Bulgaria has over 1,500 street fountains, Sofia has over 150.
This reminds me of bTV.
„According to the latest data, 116 are working, it turns out that this is quite a dynamic statistic, as they are constantly being damaged,” says Milena Vaseva – director municipal enterprise “Parks and city gardens“ in Sofia.
„The water comes from the Iskar dam, after passing through the Pancharevo treatment plant, Bistrica, where it is mechanically processed, purified and decontaminated,” explains Hristo Toshkov – senior water intake laboratory specialist at Sofia Water.
The main problem with the fountains is the underground infrastructure – water supply, sewage and drainage.
Together with “Active Users“ we examine the water from the fountains in the center of Sofia.
„This sample will be tested for active chlorine content, for iron, for manganese. In general, the EU has very strict legislation on drinking water”, says Dr. Sergey Ivanov.
According to Dr. Ivanov, the risk for the water in this area is from prechlorination.
„Chlorine is the main, if not the only, way to fight microbiological pollution, with it the dose is about 0.04 and 0.05 milligrams per liter. If this dose is exceeded, toxic carcinogenic substances are formed”, he explains.
We are also checking a second fountain.
„The indicators are the same, this is drinking water from the city water supply network”, says Dr. Ivanov.
We check first for the amount of chlorine in the samples because the values change in minutes. According to the amount of chlorine, the substance we add will turn a yellowish color. The rapid test shows that there are no elevated levels of chlorine in either sample.
We also test the water for iron and manganese. These are indicators that can be influenced by the condition of water pipes, experts say.
„On all three indicators, the result is negative. That is, no elevated norms are detected, says Dr. Ivanov.
In order to find out whether there are dangerous microorganisms in the water from the two taps, we perform a microbiological analysis in a certified laboratory.
Together with Selver Kalvun - senior laboratory specialist instrumental methods in the laboratory-testing complex of “Sofia Voda” AD, we are checking the results.
„The samples we took and examined for the most important indicators – namely pH, electrical conductivity, turbidity, color, ammonium ions, aluminum, iron, manganese – in all of them the samples meet the requirements. The fountains in Sofia are safe to drink, says Selver Kalvun.